Bill Could Ease Restrictions on Semi-Automatic Magazines

A new Ohio House Bill introduced on June 4 by State Rep. John Becker
(R-Union Township) could, if passed, allow gun owners to purchase
high-round magazines for semi-automatic weapons, removing language from
the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) that currently restricts use of magazines exceeding 31 rounds for semi-automatic weapons.

Specifically, the proposed bill would
remove a portion of the definition of “automatic firearm” that currently
qualifies semi-automatic firearms (operated by firing only once for
each pull of the trigger) as automatic by law when used with a magazine
holding greater than 31 rounds of ammunition.

Supporters of the bill say the current
wording prevents them from purchasing high-capacity magazines, an issue
Jim Irvine, Chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, says is mostly
one of convenience for most gun owners. Opponents of the bill argue
easing up the restrictions would make it easier for offenders to carry
out violent shootings when large amounts of ammunition are more quickly
accessible.

Toby Hoover, executive director for the
Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, says that grouping together
semi-automatic and automatic firearms using the current magazine
restriction is a common-sense way to define them both as dangerous,
unnecessary forms of firearms that simply shouldn’t be readily
accessible to the average gun owner, even though it’s clear the two are
disparate weapons that function differently.

The bill has been assigned to the House’s
Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security committee, where it
currently awaits hearing.